Forum Archive: Posts by: snowbunny

I am moving into a first floor apartment. There are bars on the windows facing the street, but not on the windows (or doors) facing the garden. The landlord told me that they cannot install bars bc they would be “liable” if we were robbed or if there was a fire and we were trapped. This sounds ridiculous to me, but I can’t force them to install them. However, I do need some type of security – don’t I? Does anyone have advice on installing such bars myself (and how much that would cost)? Would it be more efficient (and cheaper) to set up an alarm system?

Thanks!
(Brownstoner posters, you have been invaluable to me with all of your advice during my apartment search)

Hi,

I have finally found a rental apartment, but the landlord is including some unusual lease provisions in the rider. The most worrisome of these is a provision regarding the water bill. The apartment building contains 5 apartments, all two or three bedrooms, with W/D hook ups and dishwashers. The tenant must agree to assume 1/5 of the amount of any water bill exceeding $400 per quarter.

Are there any landlords of multi-family dwellings out there that have an opinion on whether the building is likely to exceed $400 per quarter in water bills? And by how much? I don’t want to make a big deal of this if it isn’t likely to be a problem, but we will already be paying our own heat/hot water, so I need to keep the bills under control.

Many thanks.

My lease is up in December, and although I would like to stay in my current apartment, I will need to negotiate a rent reduction with my landlord in order to make that possible.

I live in a rental building with three units, all with almost identical floorplans. I live in the top floor unit, which is a 6 story walk up. The other two lower floor apartments were rented 1-2 months after I signed my lease, for about 12% less than what I am currently paying. At most, I do not want to pay more than the other tenants. In any case, I think that I can do better elsewhere, and although I hate to go through the hassle of moving, I will move if I can’t get the rent reduced. My changed financial position during the last year, along with unexpectedly high heating and cooling bills in the apartment make this a necessity.

I was wondering if anyone has had luck recently with negotiating a rent reduction, and if so, how you approached it – did you put your request in writing, provide other apartment listings to show similar apartments, discuss your personal financial concerns, or just keep it simple? The situation is somewhat complicated by the fact that my landlord can be really nutty – he once repeatedly cursed at me and screamed “I’m not your slave” into the phone at me when I called to report that water was pouring through the ceiling and I requested his help, and then a few days later approached me on the street wanted to coo over my baby and pinch his cheeks. Needless to say, I don’t want to get into another screaming match with him.

Many thanks for any advice.